It's Valentine's Day in two weeks (which is so soon!), and I'm already filling my shopping bag to the brim with these goodies. I've to admit I'm not too fond of perfumes, for me their scents are wonderful but too strong on me, so I've switched to body splashes and lotions for the last couple of months. Besides, I'm sure our friend Monti is the master of perfumes here (I'm curious about your version of romantic fragrances, Mon) :)

Bath and Body Works products are certainly a lot of people's favorites, and I'm a little late in exploring my choices. However, better late than never, right? I've chosen these scents especially for you who would like to search for a romantic fragrance on Valentine's Day. Or perhaps, for the boys who would like to find the perfect gifts for their loved ones (mothers, sisters, friends, colleagues, wives and girlfriends).

Let's explore some fragrances. The definition of romantic varies for different people. To me, romantic is a subtle, soft floral scent mixed with freshness, something alluring but not overpowering. For my boyfriend, the scent that triggers romance is very very subtle hint of fragrance, nothing to cheerful, and he absolutely despises sweet scents like vanilla, but loves fresh smells of apples.

What about you?

I recently tried this scent, Cherry Blossom. Bath and Body Works has four different cherry blossom scents and they're all wonderful.

Cherry Blossom is a quiet scent, if I could call it that. It's sweet and almost smells like nothing but crisp velvety petals of a cherry blossom flower. This is perfect for someone modest and feminine, or if you'd like something sweet in the rainy season. The body cream is much more heavily scented than the body lotion, and it lasts for a long time (I wear it daily from the morning to late noon).

A description of cherry blossom scent from BBW: Spring's first blossoms bathed in sunlight. Classic. Bright. Beautiful. (Fragrance top notes: Dewy Watermelon, Green Lush Accord, Wisteria Petal, Red Plum; mid notes: Cherry Blossom, Sheer Freesia; base notes: Soft Musk, Sandalwood, Heliotrope.)

Another type is Japanese Cherry Blossom, which has more spunk than the predecessor Cherry Blossom. It's slightly spicy, with stronger notes of floral, and is not a subtle aroma at all. Some like this exotic scent, but if you prefer something soft as Cherry Blossom, perhaps you'd like Blushing Cherry Blossom better. They also have White Cherry Blossom, but my picks for soft sakura scents are Blushing Cherry Blossom and the original Cherry Blossom.

Next in line is a scent some would call sexy. Hmmm. It's the Night Blooming Jasmine. When I took a sniff for the very first time, I recalled it as a little musky. Not very much smelling of jasmine, but it was quite a mysterious scent. Exactly as the description, delicate flowers against a full moon. This is a nice scent to wear at night. (Fragrance top notes are lilac and jasmine, mid notes: violet leaves, freesia petals, spring rain accord, with oris and musk as base notes).

Moving on to other sweet smelling flowers, my other top choices are sheer freesia and sweet pea. When I first tested several samples at a counter, I fell in love with sweet pea at first sniff. It is indeed sweet, literally, so those who are not so fond of sweet smelling scents might think this is a little harsh on the nose. However, in my opinion, sweet pea manages to be sweet without being overpowering. It's basic. Simple. Fresh. Cheerful. A good fragrance for someone who leads an active life and loves life itself. (Fragrance top Notes: Sweet Pea, Watery Pear, Logan Berry, Rhubarb; mid notes: Cyclamen, Freesia, Raspberry; base note: Musk.)

On the other hand, I love sheer freesia because it's exactly the opposite. Sheer Freesia smells like the grass wetted with rain, so it's less sweet. A very delicate scent, but lovable all the same. A good fragrance for someone who doesn't like to wear much perfume.

• Fragrance Top Notes: Plum, Grass Accord
• Fragrance Mid Notes: Baby Freesia Accord, Rose
• Fragrance Base Notes: Sandalwood, Musk

The rest of you who prefer other smells such as fruits and herbs, do check out Bath and Body Works' other selections. A few favorites are:

Country Apple! Who doesn't love the scent of crisp apples hanging in the air? They have Candy Apple (that smells just like candy), and other apple scents, but this one's the best. Country Apple retains the original scent of the fruit, blended with musk and buguet. Our contributor Margie told me this was also her favorite scent :)

Of course, we still have a few other options for romantic fragrances. I personally adore the soft baby powder smell of Cotton Blossom and Sea Island Cotton. While Cotton Blossom smells of clean laundry (I am not kidding, it really really does smell exactly like that), Sea Island Cotton infuses a scent of the beach along with it. I love both; Cotton Blossom is sweeter and makes you feel like cuddling in a thick blanket, Sea Island Cotton makes you want to be wrapped up in someone's arms, huddled close together watching the sunrise at the sea. Key fragrance notes: Cotton Blossom, Drenched Air, Fresh Linen, Soft Powder. Recently Cotton Blossom is discontinued, and then produced again, as it is the more popular of the two.

I was also recently told that guys adore the scent of vanilla. Really? I don't know, because personally, having too much vanilla scents makes me a little dizzy. But these could be your alternatives if you like vanilla:

Black Rapsberry Vanilla. Why not? Fruits mixed with vanilla is a wonderful scent. Key fragrance notes: Juicy Blackberry, Bergamot, Anjou Pear, Vanilla Orchid, Taffeta Musk.

Or if you want a really pure vanilla scent, I bet you'd love this one, Warm Vanilla Sugar. When I took my first whiff, I was overwhelmed with the strong vanilla scent.  Not my number one fragrance choice, but I guess I could use it whenever my mood is low. It'll surely cheer me up. Use it when you need to feel powerful and seductive :D

Okay, now I've lined down a few fragrance choices based on different perceptions of romantic and sexy. Which one is your favorite? Do drop by Shadow in Plaza Semanggi or Pondok Indah Mall to try out the scents. Each body lotion, body cream and splash is priced at Rp. 169 000,-, which is quite a good deal, in my opinion, since it's long lasting and the body splash is even made in 236ml, which is a huge bottle. It's also available in Guardian counters and several shops in ITC Kuningan or ITC Mangga Dua :)

Do let me what you think. Stock up for Valentine's Day, maybe, or start preparing the gift packages.

Picture and info courtesy of bathandbodyworks.com